Yahoo will be renamed Altaba post Verizon acquisition

Yahoo has said that it would rename itself Altaba and chief executive officer Marissa Mayer would step down from the board after the closing of its deal with Verizon Communications.

Yahoo has a deal to sell its core internet business, which includes its digital advertising, email and media assets, to Verizon for $4.83 billion.

The terms of that deal could be amended – or the transaction may even be called off – after Yahoo last year disclosed two separate data breaches; one involving some 500 million customer accounts and the second involving over a billion.

Verizon executives have said that while they see a strong strategic fit with Yahoo, they are still investigating the data breaches.

Five other Yahoo directors would also resign after the deal closes, Yahoo said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

The remaining directors will govern Altaba, a holding company whose primary assets will be a 15% stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and 35.5% stake in Yahoo Japan.

The new company also named Eric Brandt chairman of the board, effective January 9.